Richmond Region Weather

Have Your Say on the Future of the James River Park

Are you a James River Park user? Mountain biker? Dog walker? Birdwatcher? Trail runner? Next week you’ll have a chance to help shape the future of the park. From the Friends of the James River Park:

When we began planning for the next decade of the James River Park System, we partnered with the City of Richmond to develop a Master Plan. Our Draft Master Plan is the result of a thorough public comment period with guidance pulled directly from over 2,000 surveys and 10 public meetings held at every voting district in the City of Richmond which began in January. Your input helped to create the Draft of our Ten-Year Master Plan.

On the evening of Wednesday, July 17th, city residents and all in the region who love the James River Park system are invited to attend a meeting to review the Master Plan Draft and provide feedback. Staff from Parks, Recreation, and Community Facilities, members of the James River Park System Steering and Technical Committees, and VHB Engineering and Hargreaves will provide an overview of the proposed Master Plan.

And we once again need your input.

Among the plans discussed for our 600-acre Park are improvements to existing infrastructure like headquarters and the Pony Pasture Bathhouse, preserving wild and green spaces, increasing multi-modal transportation to and from the park to improve access, and beginning to connect other green spaces throughout the Richmond region to the James River Park.

The development of a Master Plan for the James River Park System is an initiative of the Friends of the James River Park in partnership with the City of Richmond. The plan will incorporate aspects of existing plans and build on what has been done before. The project was funded by Friends of the James River Park, the Beirne Carter Foundation, Dominion Energy Charitable Foundation, CoStar, NewMarket Foundation, Venture Richmond, The Community Foundation, the Virginia Health Foundation, and others who love the Park.

About Andy Thompson

I was the Outdoors Columnist at the Times-Dispatch from 2007 to 2013, writing twice a week about mountain biking, fishing, hunting, paddling and much more. I live a 1/4 mile from the James River, close enough to see bald eagles soaring over my house on their way to find a meal. Pretty cool, eh?